Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor for compressing incoming air, a combustor for mixing fuel with the compressed air and igniting the fuel/air mixture to produce a high temperature gas stream, and a turbine section that is driven by the high temperature gas stream. Often, a portion of the incoming air is bled off from the compressor into a cooling circuit for cooling various components of the turbine including a section of the combustor adjacent a reaction zone or combustion chamber.
Cooling efficiency is directly affected by fluid mechanics and distribution of the airflow through the section of the combustor to be cooled. As such, cooling efficiency can be enhanced by more effectively controlling the airflow through the cooling circuit.